nOob Question about new Paint job..

[ZaneDonzi]

Hi fellaz... i want to repaint my boat and was wondering if i must use gel coat.. or its ok using a high grade automotive paint.

Whats the difference between both and can you tell if the boat is painted or gel coated by just looking at it?

Thanx in advance:beer:

[Morgan's Cloud]

Zane ,
This comes up quite often here.
Gelcoat , if you can afford it , is more desireable in certain circles as it appears that the boat is 'original'. It is far more labour intensive than a paint job if I'm not mistaken.
Todays modern high end paints are more durable than gelcoat however.
Incidentally , when talking about 'repainting/refinishing' as such , I'm NOT including the hull bottom here ...
Do you have a large number of finishes to choose from over there ?
Frequently here , people call names that are just not available out in the boonies.
If you have Awlgrip or Imron to choose from , that's a good start. IMO do not use regular automotive paint
Awlgrip does not have a ton of colours to choose from but it's damn good stuff.
By comparison , a really good high end paint can yield a finish that will look wet for years with very little maintenace compared to a re-gelcoat job.
BE warned though , many here won't add their 2c worth because there are strong opinions held by some that when you 'paint' your boat' you've ruined it . :)

[ZaneDonzi]

Well i wish the boat was left in its original state... but the previous owner had painted it and i hate the color and shceme... so thats the reason i want to change that.

U said not to paint the bottom... Why is that? how do i know if the bottom is already painted? and if it is painted, what sholuld i do to fix the "mistake"?

Tru tho... seems like not alot of people want to chime in on this:confused:

Thank You.

[Morgan's Cloud]

Zane , I did'nt say 'don't paint the bottom'. What I mean is that doing the bottom and doing the topsides/deck are two very different things.
If your boat has already been painted (deck and topsides) it will probably have to be re-done with paint from here on.
You see it could have been originally painted because the gelcoat was too far gone and the owner did'nt want to go through the expense.
Stripping off all the paint will not be cheap or easy in and of itself only to then find it is not suitable for a re gel .
Do you plan to have this boat forever or are you just looking to get on the water fast and cheap ? Are you a certified Donzi loony ?
All things to ponder eh ?
If the boat was originally left overboard it is no mistake to have paint on the bottom. Do you plan to keep it in the water when you have re-done it ?
If you don't , then by all means strip the bottom carefully to the gelcoat and be prepared to commit a lot of time polishing and buffing it back to new.
Very few people (myself included) will recommend painting (NOT antifouling painting) the bottom of a boat as part of a restoration . If you can keep the bottom gelcoat and the boat out of the water then all the better.
Can you post some pics so we can see what you are dealing with ?
BTW . Someone else did answer your question about how to tell if the bottom has been painted, but I'll repeat it here... IF it's been antifouled the paint build-up on the bottom is unmistakable. You will be able to see and feel the line created by it. The finish will be matte at the very best and mud-cracked or leathery in apperance at worst. Possibly flaking off in places also.
Incidentally , Is'nt the sun really really bad over in your neck of the woods and cool weather is still hot ? ?
Steve

[gcarter]

I repainted my sides and stripe because the original gel was too far gone.
I used a high end after market single stage (but two part) paint designed for high end European cars. Several really nice things quickly became apparent.
1) It simply doesn't fade. This is after almost two years. Additionally it stays very shiny.
2) It's VERY difficult to scratch it.
It's really kind of like the type of finish you'd expect to find on a Beemer or Merc. I've been very pleased with the results.
While gel is very durable, the hotter the environment you live in the more UV destruction you'll experience and the harder it is to maintain.
But like Steve said, no paint on the bottom. The paint just isn't designed for it.
I had to do the bottom "anti fouling" paint removal on mine too. At the moment, I have the boat on dollies re-fairing the bottom and am preparing to re-gel the bottom. It's a tremendous amount of work which I've been ignoring for 1 1/2 years.
But I like automotive paint, expect to pay a lot for it though. You can expect to pay $150-$500/ quart or more, with all the additional chemicals needed. The plus side is that you can have virtually any kind of finish imaginable.

[ZaneDonzi]

Ok thanx now its more clear... so i gather sides and top can be painted but bottom should be or better off gel coated...
so if the bottom on mine is painted then im gonna strip it and re-gel.

Im planning to keep the boat out the water, so i shouldnt worry bout antifouling..

Im not a "certified Donzi loony" YET.. but i had just fallen in love with the classic 22 after seeing a bunch on this website and i think im getting certified slowly... So i cant say if i want to keep it forever or whatever but im most definatly keeping it for a very long time!

Heres a thread with some pics of me boat..

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=43679

Thanx for the info fellaz :beer: